On December 25th, let's all celebrate the birth of Mithra

[auburngrad82]

http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/holidays/christmas/real.html

Here's a nice history of Christmas. Happy Saturnalia and happy birthday Mithra! And shame on the Christians for stealing this pagan holiday and turning it from a raucous celebration and into a reason for buying tons of crap from WalMart.

[GatoLover]

1. On December 25 I intend to celebrate

the first night of Channukah!

[trotsky]

2. Happy Solstice!

A celebration of human observation & reason.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

8. It's also Christmas...

and in that tradition, I submit this humble re-write of a great Christmas classic... I hope you find it funny but, remember, the joke is on us!

HOW THE GRINCH STOLE FREEDOM
Every Free
Down in Free-ville
Liked Freedom a lot...
But the Grinch,
Who ruled oil, in Texas
Did NOT!
The Grinch hated Freedom!
and the whole Constitution!
Don't ask why he supports Bill of Rights Resolution.
It could be that he never got screwed just quite right.
It could be, while pregnant, his mom drank to get tight.
But I think that the most likely reason of all
May have been that his brain was two sizes too small.
But,
Whatever the reason,
His brain or disease,
He stood on the Hill, hating the Frees,
Staring down from the White House, with a sour Grinchy face
At the warm hearts below, of the whole human race.
For he knew every Free, in that big Free-ville nation
Was busy at work, to pay for vacation.
"And they're driving their cars!" he sighed with a moan.
"But after election, they’ll all sit at home!"
Then he growled, with his grinch-fingers nervously thumping,
"I MUST jack up fuel. They need a good humping!"
For, tomorrow, he knew...
...in a TV debate
He’d have to face issues that just wouldn’t wait!
And then! Oh, the truth! Oh, the TRUTH! TRUTH! TRUTH! TRUTH!
He’d never told it once, at least not since his youth!
Then the Frees, young and old, would sit down for TV.
And they'd listen! And they'd watch!
And they'd SEE! SEE! SEE! SEE!
They’d find out his sick brain, was as small as a pea
Which made Grinch wish his mom, had drunk only tea!
And THEN
They'd do something, he hated most from afar!
Every Free down in Free-ville, would head for their car,
and they’d open the doors, those Frees sure were striving.
Then they’d crank them all up and the Frees would start driving!
They'd drive! And they'd drive!
AND they'd DRIVE! DRIVE! DRIVE! DRIVE!
And the more the Grinch thought of the Fast-Driving-Frees…
The more he slumped into Grinch mental disease.
"Why for fifty-three years I've put up with this sin!
I MUST stop this Free-driving!
...But WHEN?"
Then he got a symptom!
An awful symptom!
THE GRINCH
GOT AN AWFULLY GREEDY BRAIN SYMPTOM!
"I know just what to do!" That Grinch was a mess.
As he decided to fool um in Christian-Cross-Dress!
He made a Christian-Claus hat and coat from our Flag.
Then he chuckled, while thinking of going in drag!
"With this coat and this hat, I'll earn their esteem!”
Is a nightmare in drag the American Dream?
"All I need is minorities, in some high places..."
The Grinch looked for brown or even black faces.
”Hmmm,” mulled the Grinch, “there’s that maid in my house.”
But she seems too feisty and I need a mouse
Did that stop the old Grinch...?
No! The Grinch simply said,
"If I can't find a minority, I'll make one instead!"
So he called Condoleezza. She came from the south
With a horn in the tooth-space, right in her mouth!
He knew with that horn, he’d control what she’d say
Unlike the black General, he’d made go away
THEN
He loaded his oil stocks
In some old empty sacks
And sent them to Houston
With no paper tracks.
As the Grinch blamed the Moslems, while making smart cracks…
Oil prices rose and the economy went down.
And you’d think those Frees would run him from town.
National debt went way up, which the Grinch found quite funny
But he tricked them again by printing more money!
All the Frees seemed asleep. Quiet snow filled the air.
All the Frees dreamt American Dreams without care
How’d he get in the White House? Well, it wasn’t quite fair.
"This is stop number one," that Grinch Cross-Dresser hissed
And he snuck to their car, with a can in his fist.
Then slid in the siphon, a rather tight pinch.
But if gas thieves could do it, then so could the Grinch.
He got gas in his mouth, for a moment or so.
But he knew without gas those cars wouldn’t go!
Then he went to a church, where cars parked in a row.
"These Christians," he grinned, "are too dumb to know!"
Then he slurped and slunk, with a smile most insane,
And sucked on his siphon, like Free candy-cane!
Toyotas and Dodges! Chevys and Fords!
There’s been no worse crime, since Huns ran in hoards!
He filled all his cans, in a manner quite stern
And lit up a match but the stuff wouldn’t burn!
Then called on his phone, while starting to frown
In Houston, they said “it’s too watered down!”
He knew low octane was real cheap to make.
And kept right on trying, while screaming “Petes sake!”
Then an idea arose, in his mind like a boil.
"I’ll go inside NOW and steal heating oil!"
The Grinch grabbed their supply, and started to shove
When he heard a small sound like the coo of a dove.
He turned around fast, and he saw a small Free!
Little Cindy-Lee Free, who was not more than three.
The Grinch had been caught by this little Free daughter
Who'd got out of bed for a cup of cold water.
She stared at the Grinch and said, "Christian Claus, why,
"Why are you taking our heating oil? WHY?"
You know, Grinch wasn’t smart but still oh-so-slick
He thought up a lie, and he thought it up quick!
"Why, my sweet little tot," the fake Christian lied,
"This oil will only light up on one side.
"So I'm recalling it back to Houston, my dear.
"I'll fix it up there. Then I'll bring it back here."
And his fib fooled the child. Then he patted her head
And he got her a drink and he sent he to bed.
And when Cindy-Lee Free went to bed with her cup,
HE went to the fireplace to light their oil right up!
Then the last thing he saw, way down the Free-hall
Was a framed Constitution, which hung from the wall
He set fire to the parchment, that nasty old liar.
But while it was burning, the Grinch caught on fire!
Unlike cheap gas, crap burns pretty well
Maybe that con would soon sear in Grinch-Hell!
Then
He did the same thing
Although singed to a cinder
Leaving every car empty
He even stole a fender!

And as sleepy-head Frees, all slept in their bed
He packed the High Court, without using his head
It was quarter past dawn... a good time to snooze
As he loaded the Court, with Nazis on booze…
All unadorned crooks, no ribbons or wrappings!
No tags or tinsel! No trimmings or trappings!
He’d raise fuel prices, as high as Mount Crumpit,
Then call his stock-broker and tell him to dump it!
"He, he, he on Free-Orleans!" he was grinch-ish-ly humming.
"They're finding out soon that relief is not coming!”
"They're waking up now! I know how they'll be!”
"Their mouths will hang open a minute or three…”
"Then, the Frees down in Free-ville will all cry WE SEE!"
"That's a noise," grinned the Grinch,
"That I simply must hear!"
So he paused. And the Grinch put a hand to his ear…
Then he turned on his grinch-nuke-tronic-eavesdrop.
Yeah, he’d stretch the law, when there wasn’t a cop…
But he HAD to hear all of those Free-hearts go pop!
And he did hear a sound rising over the snow.
It started in low. Then it started to grow...
The sound wasn't sad!
Why, this sound sounded merry!
It couldn't be so!
But it WAS merry! VERY!
He stared down at Free-ville!
The Grinch popped his eyes!
Then he shook!
What he saw was a shocking surprise!
Every Free down in Free-ville, the tall and the small,
Was finally free-thinking… with no Rights at all!
He HADN'T stopped Freedom from coming!
IT CAME!
All other dictators would soon learn the same!
And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow,
Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could it be so?
It came without a war! It came with no pact!
"It came without changing The Patriot Act!"
And he puzzled three hours, `till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!
"Maybe Freedom," he thought, doesn't hang in a frame…
"Maybe Freedom...perhaps...is a much bigger game!"
And what happened then...?
Well...in Free-ville they say
That the Grinch's small brain
Finally wandered away!
And the minute his head didn't feel so up-tight…
He hid like Bin Laden, from the bright morning light…
And he lied like Saddam, right up to his trial!
And he...
...HE HIMSELF...!
Plead insanity, with a smile!

[meganmonkey]

11. Welcome to DU! Mind if I post this in its own thread?

I'll give you credit :)

EDIT: I already posted it, hope you don't mind. I love it so much I want to share :) Here's the link:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5667453

[Jeffersons Ghost]

17. sure post away

thanks

[meganmonkey]

10. I am going to a Solstice dinner party tonight

I can't wait. :)

[Maat]

33. I thought the Solstice was last night!

We had a celebration last night!

[YOY]

3. I gotta better idea

Why don't we all grow the hell up and celebrate nothing but each other's company!

[leveymg]

4. Happy birthday, Mothra!

[YOY]

13. That's not Mothra!

I'm pretty sure it's Hedorah (The smog monster) from the groovy no pollution film.

This is Mothra!


and the two little freaky tiny singing chicks that control him...

[Cha]

5. Who is Mithra? n/t

[auburngrad82]

7. From the article:

In addition, members of the upper classes often celebrated the birthday of Mithra, the god of the unconquerable sun, on December 25. It was believed that Mithra, an infant god, was born of a rock. For some Romans, Mithra's birthday was the most sacred day of the year.

We was, apparently, a little pebble of a god.

[yella_dawg]

15. Mithra was a Middle Eastern Deity

picked up by Roman troops who were off kicking Babylonian butts. Typical of Babylonian duelist beliefs, Mithra was a bit weird. The cult found widespread acceptance in Rome for a while, not long before another Middle Eastern duelist religion, Christianity, was introduced. Look where that got us.

[TechBear_Seattle]

18. Mithra was not Babylonian

The Babylonians were Semites; their religion was very close to the religion of the Assyrians, Canaanites, Hyksos and other Semitic people. Mithra is from the Persian culture via the Indic and is mentioned in both the scriptures of Zoroasterism (the Avestyas) and Hinduism (the Vedas.)

[yella_dawg]

32. Oh really?

Clearly I am confused. The Semitic tribes were into the duelist stuff, and for some reason, I thought that Mithra was one of theirs. The idea that Mithra is Vedic in derivation would explain why the god was so readily assimilated into Roman theology.

I need to go back and refresh myself on some things.

[TechBear_Seattle]

16. Originally a minor sun god from Persia

The cult of Mithra was adopted by Roman soldiers and, by the first century of the Common Era, was one of the most widely spread religions in the Roman Empire. The Wikipedia has an interesting and informative article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithra

[Cha]

19. Thanks to all who

answered my question..I couldn't seem to see anything about Mithra when I read the link.

It's good to know the history of how this all came about.

[emad]

6. Anybody else in DU got a birthday that day?

Or anniv?

[LeftNYC]

12. Karl Rove's birthday 12/25..nt

[emad]

14. Dammit dammit dammit.

That's where the similarity ends.

[ksc121]

23. Me

It's my birthday too.

[emad]

25. Join the club ksc121.....

Hopin' it's a good one this year.

[yella_dawg]

9. Mithra is a little weird for my taste

I don't know all that much about the god, but the whole thing seems a little creepy.

For most of northern Europe, Yule was a more or less religiously neutral feast to end all feasts. Yule was the chief feast of the year, and typically dedicated to household or local Deity rather than sacred to some member of the major pantheon.

Feasting is good. Piss on all the merry this and happy that, let's eat!

[Jackpine Radical]

22. "Yule" = "Hjul," meaning Wheel. It is the time when the wheel

of the seasons begins its next turning.

[TechBear_Seattle]

31. I have it from Old English _geol_, from Old Norse _jol_, meaning feast

I've never heard the "wheel" etymology.

[Dervill Crow]

34. I've heard that, too, but the wheel begins its turn at Samhain.

It's just continuing on its way at Yule.

[mondo joe]

20. Enough of your WAR ON SATURNALIA. NT

[madeline_con]

21. Or Zoroaster....

Who sounds familiar, like Jesus and the Buddha...



The Prophet
Main article: Zoroaster
Relatively little is known about the Prophet Zoroaster and even the period he lived in is disputed. Usually he is placed roughly near 1000 BCE, though others give earlier estimates, while still others place him in the 6th century BCE, which would make him contemporary to the rise of the first Achaemenides.

According to tradition, Zoroaster was the son of Pourushaspa' and Dugdhova, and was special since birth. Pliny the Elder relates that the prophet was born smiling. His head shook uncontrollably to the point where he would slip out of the hands of his parents, a sign of future wisdom. Before he was six years old he was appointed a wise teacher who would take care of him; little is known about the relation between teacher and student. Many attempts were supposed to have been made to kill the child by enemies who recognised his significance.

According to these narrations, when Zoroaster became seven years old, he was the target of an assassination plot in which men tried to poison him with black magic. As Zoroaster turned fifteen, he gained understanding and determination, and it was then when he chose the Kusti, meaning he voluntarily submitted himself to religion. When Zoroaster turned twenty years of age he left his guardians' house and, according to Dio Chrysostom, spent seven years on a mountain in a cave. During these seven years Zoroaster devoted himself to meditation and religious understanding.


Also, check out the almost too familiar pic here:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoroaster

[TlalocW]

24. I'd rather celebrate the creation of Mithril

It kept both Bilbo and Frodo Baggins alive. Yay for Hobbits!

TlalocW

[RaleighNCDUer]

26. Hail the birth of the Eternal Sun! nt

[Jeffersons Ghost]

27. Let's not confuse Mithra cults with Zoroastrianism

Zoroaster lived sometime between 600 and 6,000 BCE and was a "redeemer" who planted a theology that became the roots of modern monotheism... According the the Chaldean Oracles, this belief represents a very early worship of a Father Deity. Zoroastrianism likely replaced Mithra worship along with several other belief systems when it became the approved religion of the Persian Empire... There is some similarity between Christianity and Zoroastrianism and Christianity has some striking similarities with Mithra worship... Keep in mind, Abraham of the Bible met a Father God when he was leaving the heart of the Persian Empire during the hey-day of Zoroastrianism.

[oregonindy]

28. Find out where christianity comes from ..... happy mithras day!

http://home.earthlink.net/~pgwhacker/ChristianOrigins/

The POCM web site introduces you to the mainstream modern scholarship about Christianity's origins in ancient Pagan religion.

You already know Christmas trees and Easter eggs were originally Pagan, and you probably know the traditional mid-winter and spring timing of the two holidays was Pagan too. Mildly interesting. Not what you'll find here.

What you'll discover here is that Christianity inherited everything from the Pagans. The core of Christianity -- the worship of a dying Godman who is resurrected, ascends into heaven and brings salvation to mankind -- was also the core of a number of ancient Pagan religions that began in the Near East two thousand years before Jesus.

Christian theology borrowed more than the archaic myth of the dying-resurrected Godman. Initiation by baptism, communion with the God through a holy meal that represented the flesh of the dead God, the Holy Spirit, monotheism, and immortality of the soul were all core beliefs of many ancient faiths. They were simply part of ancient Mediterranean culture.

Christianity also borrowed elements of Jesus' mythology: the virgin birth, the miracles (including turning water into wine, walking on water, and especially healing the sick) were all common elements of pre-Christian Pagan religions. Mithras had 'em. So did Dionysus, Attis, Osiris, and Orpheus. And more. And they had them centuries before Christianity was a twinkle in Saint Paul's eye.

[grumpy old fart]

29. Interesting site, though oddly laid out....

Keeps ya jumpin' through hoops. Maybe that was the idea.

[oregonindy]

30. yeah the layouts kinda hard to get used to.

[Bike Punk]

35. There's a link...

to a video called "The God Who Wasn't There" floating around here on DU.

check the clips, it seems to fit in this discussion as well as this forum quite well.